In what is an unbelievably rare, if not unprecedented occasion, a Saudi Airlines Airbus A330 landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport today for technical reasons. The aircraft was empty, on a return trip from Brussels and it remains unclear if the stop was actually planned or part of an in-flight emergency. »5/06/15 3:42pm 5/06/15 3:42pm

Formula One nerds were all a-twittering this weekend over a report from Iranian state news agency IRNA saying that the Middle Eastern dictatorship has plans to construct a “Formula 1 circuit.” But here’s the thing. Iran can build an F1-capable circuit all they want, but it ain’t happening anytime soon. »5/04/15 12:12pm 5/04/15 12:12pm

As the conflict in Yemen intensifies, fully armed Royal Saudi Air Force F-15Cs are caught on video intercepting a civilian Airbus A310. The Mahan Air jet was en route from Iran to Yemen, supposedly on a relief mission to deliver humanitarian aid. Apparently the Saudis didn’t believe that. »4/30/15 2:16pm 4/30/15 2:16pm

Petrolicious recently sat down with Shaheen Armin, a young man who quit his job designing new cars in the U.S. in order to create a documentary about a nearly unknown classic car. The Paykan, or “Arrow” in Persian was made in Iran since the ’60s, becoming known as “the national car of Iran” mostly because it was made… »4/30/15 2:12pm 4/30/15 2:12pm

The container ship Maersk Tigris was ordered to stop its transit through the Straits of Hormuz by Iranian gunboats. When it didn’t, the Iranian ships fired shots in front of its bow, which promptly brought the ship to a halt. It was subsequently bordered and seized, and now the US Destroyer Farragut is speeding to the… »4/28/15 7:15pm 4/28/15 7:15pm

Iran’s Army Day parade always features an interesting hodgepodge of rickety floats and actual military hardware. This year included a high-speed flypast of what is just about the best eye candy around for any military aviation buff: A KC-747 , F-14A, F-4E, and a MiG-29UB all in formation.»4/21/15 2:48pm 4/21/15 2:48pm

Reports suggest that the super carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and the guided missile cruiser USS Normandy are moving into position off the coast of Yemen in an attempt to interdict Iranian arms shipments intended to resupply Shiite Houthi rebels in that country. »4/20/15 5:00pm 4/20/15 5:00pm

In what seems like a never-ending quest to find any chance it can get to stick a wrench in the spokes of Western interests, Russia has offered to sell Iran S-300 missile systems. Yes, again. »4/14/15 7:30pm 4/14/15 7:30pm

There is no doubt that the idea of Iran controlling Yemen via their Houthi Rebel proxies is a nightmare for Saudi Arabia. A large part of this nightmare is the possibility that Iran could deny access to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf simultaneously, cutting off Saudi Arabia's main avenues for energy exports and… »3/31/15 4:30pm 3/31/15 4:30pm

Iran has attempted to show the world that they have successfully test flown a 'clone' of the bat-winged RQ-170 Sentinel stealth spy drone that the CIA lost in Iranian territory a few years ago. Thankfully, it looks like the propaganda machine in Tehran is up to their usual magic tricks, and not the most believable…»11/13/14 3:50pm 11/13/14 3:50pm

A contract flight supporting US led operations in Afghanistan was on its way from Bagram AB in Afghanistan to Dubai when Iranian air traffic controllers alerted them to turn around and file a correct flight plan. The aircraft did not have the fuel to turn back so it was ordered to land at Bandar Abbas in the Persian… »9/05/14 4:40pm 9/05/14 4:40pm

There are some big tanker aircraft flying around the world, including those based on the DC-10, 767 and Russia's IL-76 design. Yet the largest aerial refueler of them all is based on the iconic Boeing 747, a symbol of American might and ingenuity. Ironically, it flies for none other than the Islamic Republic of Iran… »5/25/14 1:08pm 5/25/14 1:08pm

It would appear that the fire department of Daran, Isfahan, Iran, has at least one operational fire apparatus, but not a single firefighter on staff who knows how to fucking run it without needlessly putting themselves in extreme danger. »5/20/14 9:20pm 5/20/14 9:20pm

You have got to hand it to the Iranians, when it comes to arts and crafts they really do aim high. Last year we had the "unveiling" of the unquestionably questionable F-313 "fighter" and this year we get a truly gargantuan impressionistic interpretation of a Nimitz Class super carrier, complete with fake jets! »3/22/14 1:10pm 3/22/14 1:10pm

Israel is well known for their maritime raiding capabilities, a common tactic used to interdict cargo, or personnel, aboard ships that the Mossad deems as a threat to the homeland, sometimes to a controversial degree. Yet there is little controversy about the validity of the Israeli Navy's mission yesterday, one that… »3/06/14 5:16pm 3/06/14 5:16pm